New York, New York (July 29, 2021) – The Tony Awards Administration Committee announced today that Tony Award nominated director and choreographer Graciela Daniele will be the 2020 recipient of the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre.

Graciela Daniele has directed on Broadway, at Lincoln Center and the Public Theater, and at regional theaters and has earned ten Tony Award nominations and six Drama Desk nominations. Her Broadway Director/Choreographic credits include Chita Rivera, The Dancer’s Life, Annie Get Your Gun, Marie Christine, Once on This Island, Chronicle of a Death Foretold and Dangerous Game. She has Musical Staged/Choreographed such shows as Ragtime (Astaire, Ovation [L.A.], NAACP, and Callaway Award), The Goodbye Girl, Zorba with Anthony Quinn, The Rink starring Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. She choreographed the New York Shakespeare Festival production of The Pirates of Penzance on Broadway, Los Angeles and London, the motion picture of Pirates, and three Woody Allen films including Mighty Aphrodite, for which she won the 1996 Fosse Award, and Everyone Say I Love You, for which she won the 1997 Fosse Award. Ms. Daniele directed and choreographed A New Brain, which enjoyed an extended run in the summer of 1998 at Lincoln Center Theatre. She is recipient of the 1998 “Mr. Abbot” Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Director/Choreographer. Ms. Daniele directed and choreographed Michael John LaChuisa’s Hello Again (Lincoln Center) and Little Fish (Second Stage) and Bernarda Alba (Lincoln Center Theatre) along with the Lincoln Center Theatre production of William Finn’s Elegies, A Song Cycle. Most recently, she has choreographed The Visit on Broadway.

“We are thrilled to recognize Graciela with the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre,” said Heather Hitchens, President of the American Theatre Wing and Charlotte St. Martin, President of The Broadway League. “Her impact on the Broadway community and on our culture as a whole has been immeasurable.”

The Tony Awards, presented by the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, will host a multi-platform celebration on Sunday, September 26th, starting with the presentation of the American Theatre Wing’s 74th Annual Tony Awards LIVE at 7:00 PM ET / 4:00 PM PT exclusively on Paramount+, followed by “The Tony Awards Present: Broadway’s Back!” on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+ and the CBS app.

For more information on the Tony Awards, please visit www.TonyAwards.com and follow @TheTonyAwards on social media.

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About the Tony Awards

The American Theatre Wing’s Tony Awards are presented by The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing. At The Broadway League, Lauren Reid is Chair and Charlotte St. Martin is President. At the American Theatre Wing, Emilio Sosa is Chair and Heather A. Hitchens is President & CEO.

Sponsors for The Tony Awards include: Carnegie Mellon University – the first-ever, exclusive higher education partner; City National – official bank of the Tony Awards and presenting sponsor of the Creative Arts Awards; MAC Cosmetics - official makeup partner; People/EW - official magazine partner;

Playbill; Sofitel New York – the official hotel of the Tony Awards; Rainbow Room - official partner of the Tony Nominee Luncheon; Passion Roses - the official rose of the Tony Awards; and United Airlines – the official airline of the Tony Awards for over 20 years.